Sturgis motorcycle rally ready to roll despite Delta variant surge
CBSN
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally rumbles into South Dakota on Friday, with the gathering expected to draw as many as 700,000 visitors. Yet even as some states and cities around the U.S. reverse course in reopening amid a fearsome spike in COVID-19 cases linked to the so-called Delta variant, local business owners around Sturgis are revved up for an annual tradition that has become a mammoth tourism event.
"I think it's great we're getting so many tourists. Seeing all the new faces and their wanting us to tell them about other local businesses to go to is super cool," said Taylor Whittle, owner of Sweet Secrets Bakery, located in Rapid City, South Dakota, about 20 minutes away from Sturgis. In fact, Whittle is less concerned about the virus than she is her internet speed, which she said has slowed given the sheer volume of people using bandwidth as the 10-day motorcycle rally gets ready to roll. "We're definitely noticing our internet is not working because of all the people in town."
The Senate on Saturday blocked an amendment that would ban transgender athletes from playing in women's sports, rejecting one of President Trump's priorities as he pressures Congress to act on a broad voting bill.
Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who led the investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, has died, multiple sources told CBS News on Saturday. He was 81. In:
Kendra Duggar was arrested for misdemeanor charges including endangering the welfare of a child and false imprisonment, according to online records. The charges come a day after her husband Joseph Duggar was charged with molestation. In:
At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:
The NCAA accused online sportsbook DraftKings of trademark infringement associated with the association's men's and women's basketball tournaments and filed a complaint in federal court seeking an emergency restraining order. In:
Airport delays continue to worsen as a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance in the Senate Friday. In:
Five people who were charged in connection to the Feeding Our Future scheme pleaded guilty to wire fraud this week. In:
Actor Nicholas Brendon, best known for his role as Xander Harris in the popular television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has died, according to his family. He was 54. In:
Washington — The Trump administration has been strategizing methods and options to secure or extract Iran's nuclear materials, according to multiple people briefed on the discussions, as a U.S.-Israel-led military campaign against Tehran enters a more uncertain phase. In:
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is the subject of several ongoing narcotics trafficking investigations being overseen by federal prosecutors in New York, sources told CBS News on Friday. Lilia Luciano, Joe Walsh and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.
The U.S. Treasury has authorized the purchase of Iranian oil that's already at sea, exempting buyers from the tight sanctions that have restricted the country's oil industry for years — a move aimed at stemming soaring prices amid the U.S.'s war with Iran. In:
A federal judge has struck down some of the Defense Department's strict controls on how journalists with access to the Pentagon are allowed to report — ending a policy that caused many news outlets to leave the Pentagon. In:
A jury has found Elon Musk liable for misleading investors by deliberately driving down Twitter's stock price in the tumultuous months leading up to his 2022 acquisition of the social media company for $44 billion. But it absolved him of some fraud allegations, finding that he did not "scheme" to mislead investors. In: